Sports Reporters: Sharing Great Streaks Basketball Memories

The winters in Illinois can be cold and dreary. Starting in the 1920’s, the best solution to the long, cold winters was high school basketball. Galesburg quickly became a basketball hot bed. 

Hopefully you will get out to watch some high school basketball this winter!

Fans of the Silver Streaks girls and boys teams can all tell you about one of the great games they have seen. Earlier this year, I asked a group of sports reporters to share one of their best memories of Galesburg basketball. 

Brad Bennewitz- WGIL

In terms of actually covering a game, 98% of my truly special experiences would be from following Silver Streaks boys basketball, and so many of those standout moments seem to hearken back to the 1997-98 season. I hate to be that obvious with my choice but ... as the years have gone by, the more games I cover, the more they tend to blur and blend together.

The first confrontation with Moline during that special season is a standout memory, largely because at Wharton Field House, our broadcast position is traditionally on the floor behind the scorer's table, and the Streaks pass by our position to get to the locker room.

The Maroons were terrific that year and had their eyes on a run to the Elite Eight, having beaten Galesburg three times the previous year, including in the Sectional championship, but falling short in the SuperSectional. They were undefeated when GHS made the trip to Wharton Field House, and the Streaks had lost only once (at the nationally prestigious Coca-Cola KMOX Shootout in St. Louis). Consequently, the old barn was packed literally to the rafters, and it was loud. The sound for us was cushioned somewhat from being seated under the upper balcony.

Emotions ran high on the floor and between the benches. The Streaks won the game 75-59, a 16-point margin that is masks how passionately-fought and tense the game was, but I distinctly remember the Streaks were perfect from the free throw line in the game -- 17 for 17, if my memory is that good -- which helped push the lead to its final margin in the end.

As I indicated, tempers flared on the sideline as well as on the court, and those emotions spread to the rest of the arena. As Galesburg exited the floor following the postgame handshake line, fans above our broadcast position were obviously calling down with negative comments to our team as it left the floor. I remember Head Coach Mike Miller angrily pointing up at someone, yelling, "Tell your coach to stop yelling at MY guys!"

It was the start of a brutal stretch that would truly test the deep talent of the team, which headed to the exclusive Proviso West Shootout immediately after the game in Moline, and thumped Glenbrook North 88-57, led by a school-record 55 points from Joey Range in that game, the second time he scored 55 in a game. Two days later, GHS returned to Chicago to play in another high-profile event, the "Hoops in the Loop Shootout" (losing in heartbreaking fashion on a 28-foot pull-up jumper at the buzzer by future Duke and NBA player Corey Maggette), and then finishing the 8-day gauntlet with a trip to Quincy the following Friday night, a 5-point win over the Blue Devils.

I hope that helps. I really would have loved to have written about being at the KU-Kentucky game in Allen Field House when we ran Rick Pitino's team out of the building 150-95, but I was just a full-throated, crazy college kid that day and was not covering the game.

Jay Redfern- 

WGIL

One of the greatest of many great games I had the fortune of covering also was arguably one of the greatest upsets in not only Galesburg basketball history, but in the history of Illinois high school basketball.

March 6, 1990

Moline Class AA Sectional semifinal

Wharton Field House

11-14 Galesburg vs. 27-0, No. 2 ranked Rock Island

A matchup of IBCA Hall of Fame coaches — Barry Swanson for Galesburg, Duncan Reid for Rock Island

Final score: Galesburg 66, Rock Island 62 in overtime.

Needless to say, the atmosphere in what I consider one of the best places to watch high school basketball was electric. Wall—to-wall fans totaling around 5,000.

I distinctly remember my location for covering the game was neither in the tucked-away, floor level press box, nor the catbird radio press box in the rafters of Wharton. Instead, I was center court, first row of the second deck, next to Neil Myer. More on that later. 

Rocky had obviously beaten Galesburg in the two previous meetings that season, but this game didn’t have the feel of a total mismatch. After all, Galesburg had some firepower of its own in juniors Elmer Dickerson and Jason Shay, along with senior Todd Kyser.

Dickerson led all scorers with 26 points and Shay added 16, including 4-of-5 shooting from 3. But it was a sophomore guard averaging just 3 points per game that hit one of the biggest shots for the Streaks. On the verge of seeing Rocky pull away, Sean Kane banked in a 30-foot, 3-pointer at the third quarter buzzer that brought the Streaks within 44-42 entering the fourth period.

Shay scored four crucial points in OT, including a jumper in the lane which put the Streaks ahead for good 64-62 with 11 seconds left in the extra period.

As the clock was winding down and it was apparent the Streaks would pull off the shocker, I briefly turned into fan and told Neil, “We’re going to win!” He’s never let me forget that!

Neil and I then watched as the Streaks bench and many of its fans celebrated on the court.

After the game, Duncan Reid told me, “Maybe it wasn’t destined to be. The gods of basketball sometimes have these things in mind.”

As joyful as the win was for the Streaks, the next game was a 180 turn of emotions, as Galesburg fell to Sterling in the sectional title game — denying the Streaks a trip to the Sweet 16.

Don O’Brien

Former Quincy Herald-Whig Reporter

GHS Grad

I covered a lot of things during my more than two decades as a sports writer - World Series, the Masters, U.S. Open, NFL playoff games. But nothing beats the 1998 Class AA boys basketball state tournament, held in Peoria.

The state tournament was still new to Peoria back in 1998, the town having swiped it from Champaign a few years prior. After what was arguably the best Western Big Six Conference boys basketball season ever, two teams - Galesburg and Quincy - made it to the Elite Eight and Carver Arena in Peoria. (And the only reason Moline wasn’t the third WB6 team there is because Galesburg bounced the Maroons in the sectional final.)

As a Galesburg alum (Class of 1989), I knew that Quincy was our enemy. The story of Bumpy Nixon and the rivalry between Galesburg’s John Thiel and Quincy’s Sherrill Hanks had been passed down to me. So, to have both schools at state was great. That they both won on the first day and made it to the final day of the season was even better.

To listen to some of the old timers, you’d think there was no love lost between the two railroad towns. But for one night, they came together to root each other on. Hopes of an All-WB6 final were dashed earlier that March Saturday when Whitney Young knocked off Quincy. The Streaks, however, held up their end of the bargain by beating Maine West in other semifinal.

So, Galesburg folks wound up rooting for Quincy in the third-place game, which they won over Maine West. Quincy fans returned the favor in the state championship game, helping give Galesburg a huge crowd advantage over Whitney Young. Unfortunately, the Streaks fell just short of joining the 1913 team as state champions and settled for second. 

I’ll never forget sitting courtside, writing about Quincy’s win while trying not to get too swept up in watching Galesburg play for the title. Seeing the Quincy and Galesburg fans rally together was one of the coolest things I’ve seen.

Of course, a few years later, the IHSA expanded the state tournament to four classes.Of course, there’s a chance that Galesburg and Quincy could make it back to state, the Streaks in Class 3A and the Blue Devils in Class 4A. But it wouldn’t be the same as that weekend in Peoria

(Massey- You still won’t catch me drinking the water in Quincy!!)

Jane Miller-Sands- 

Retired Peoria Journal-Star Reporter

GHS Grad

Here you go - probably not the best memory for you but it was a great game. 

I had more than my share of “most memorable” events in my career. Covering the Indianapolis 500 for the first time and covering the first Formula One race at Indianapolis were both dreams come true for me. 

But I’m narrowing this assignment to high school girls basketball and I’m choosing the 2007 Galesburg Sectional championship game.

First of all, the sectional was loaded - any of the four teams could have made it to the state tournament and done well. But the title game was between Galesburg, an established power, and Morton, a team which wanted the kind of success the Streaks had. The moment that made it so memorable was Taylor Young’s shot at the buzzer for Galesburg which sent the game into overtime. 

I have been to a lot of games in what is now Thiel Gym. A lot of games. I have never heard it as loud or felt the bleachers shake like they did after that shot.

Unfortunately for Galesburg, Tracy Pontius scored seven points in overtime and led the Potters to victory. 

After the game, Morton coach Bob Becker told me, “People should remember this game for a long, long time.”

I know I have.